A Grain of Poetry: How to Read Contemporary Poems and Make Them a Part of Your Life

by Kohl, Herbert R.

• ISBN13: 9780060930714
• ISBN10: 0060930713
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

Poetry has the power to move and challenge the reader. It can intensify or even celebrate misery, be cynical or wry, or just laugh outright in an outrageous way. Poetry is as serious and antic as life, and yet reading modern poetry can be shocking to our sense of what language is or must be. In A Grain of Poetry, Herbert Kohl presents a series of guideposts to help everyone read poetry and discover those poems that inform and inspire them. In clear, direct language, he covers all of the essential-but often unchartedpaths to understanding poetry: form and structure, line breaks and pauses, rhythm and melody, imagery, and recitation. Written by one of the country's leading educators, A Grain of Poetry is a comprehensive and accessible guide for all poets, students, and poetry lovers.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	1	(20)
Encountering Poems	21	(20)
It's the Breaks	41	(26)
Rhythm and Melody: An Ear for Poetry	67	(22)
The Images at the Heart of Poems	89	(28)
The Voice of the Turtle	117	(22)
The Poet's Eye/The Reader's Eye: Practicing Reading Poetry	139	(22)
Appendix: Reaching Out and Digging In	161	(8)
Permissions	169